French Pat. No. 2,185,668 discloses that aqueous compositions possessing a high spreading velocity over hydrocarbons may be obtained by combining:
A. an amphoteric fluorinated surface-active compound, PA1 B. a nonionic fluorinated surface-active compound, PA1 C. a salt of a polyfluorinated acid and a diamino hydrocarbon. PA1 1. R' and R" may be identical or different, and are alkyl radicals containing 1 to 8 carbon atoms. In this Case R'" is an aryl radical or an arylalkyl radical containing 1 to 8 carbon atoms in the alkyl chain, or the aromatic derivative of a hydroxyalkyl radical containing between 1 and about 8 carbon atoms; PA1 about 5 to 55% of the amphoteric surfactant by weight; PA1 about 5 to 45% of the nonionic surfactant by weight; and PA1 about 30 to 60% of the cationic surfactant by weight.
However, the films obtained from such compositions according to the well-known "light water" principle were too fragile. To form stable films it was necessary to quaternize the free amino group of the third component by means of a lactone, thereby converting it into another salt having the following formula: EQU C.sub.n F.sub.2n+1 (CH.sub.2).sub.a COO.sup.- NH.sub.2.sup.+ R.sub.1 -- (CH.sub.2).sub.p N.sup.30 (R.sub.2 R.sub.3) (CH.sub.2).sub.q COO.sup.-
this function as a spreading agent has also been recognized in U.S. Pat. No. 3,661,766, in which an amphoteric fluorinated surface-active compound and a salt of a polyfluoro acid are combined.
It has been unexpectedly discovered that cationic fluorinated surface-active compounds which contain at least one aromatic ring in their molecule leads to the same results, while improving to a considerable degreee the spreading velocity of the composition over liquid hydrocarbons in general, and more particularly over those containing aromatic constituents such as gasolines.
There are several types of fire-extinguishing compositions which comprise mixtures of fluorinated surfactants and hydrocarbon sufactants, notably of the cationic type. In British Pat. No. 1,280,508, the possible use of nonfluorinated aromatic quaternary ammonium salts is envisaged solely from the point of view of their bactericidal action; moreover, this application is designed for mixtures of protein hydrolyzates and fluorinated sufactants. Nonfluorinated quaternary ammonium salts are used also in Australian Pat. No. 262,897 with a view to obtaining foaming compositions. Other mixtures, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,258,423, combine amphoteric and cationic fluorinated, but the resulting films tear and readily retract under the effect of mechanical stresses, and their spreading velocity is not too high, particularly in the case of hydrocarbons of low surface tension such as gasolines.